Six Nations 9 Brampton 8

O'TOOLE DEFLATES EXCELSIORS

by thistles forever

BRAMPTON - Six Nations are a mere shadow of the team which waltzed into Brooklin earlier this year and defeated the Mann Cup holders. Since that glorious night the Chiefs have been in decline. Their worst defeat came last weekend and Thursday evening their free fall from playoff contention appeared to be continuing. Then Pat O'Toole stepped forward, singlehandedly beat Brampton 9-8 and put the faltering Chiefs back on track. A week of unlikely Six Nations victories continued. Paddy O'Toole, from the wee village of Scarborough, outdid even the great Harry Houdini. On such a night Saint Paddy could have united Ireland!

Total domination by the Excelsiors. Such was the opening period. They more than tripled Six Nations in shots 25-8. Yet, once again, O'Toole made his point to Brampton, "You chose the wrong goalie to stick with." Bob Watson struggled in the Excelsior goal. He was replaced by Brandon Miller after surrendeding a third goal with 30 seconds left in the period. The home side did come out ahead, only 4-3.

Watson returned for the second and was immediately beaten again. This was the last weak goal he gave up. In contrast to the initial 20 minutes, it took Brampton 5 minutes to get a shot on goal. Once they restarted they poured rubber down on O'Toole. The Chiefs netminder held his ground until faltering during the final minutes of the period. Dan Teat beat him twice and Wayne Burke counted another as a three goal conclusion gave the home side an 8-5 advantage. Shots were a more respectable 15-11 favouring Brampton.

The third period was a perfect one for Pat O'Toole. His shutting down the Excelsior offence gave his mates the opportunity to come back. The rally started with a Landon Miller power play marker at the 4 minute mark. Next Mike Murray took the most foolish penalty of the contest. As the play moved up floor he poked Dallas Squire in the face mask with his stick then turned for the bench. Squire jabbed Murray back, in the back of the helmet. Murray hit the floor like he'd been run over by a freight train. Referee King wasn't buying it. So the Orangeville native picked himself up and told the official what he though about the non-call. Now the dive merited a yellow card and the whining earned Murray two minutes in the box. Cory Bomberry instantly punished Brampton, making the score 8-7 with 12 minutes remaining.

Up to this point the Chiefs had looked like a club which had no hope of winning. Chris Langdale, Ryan Sanderson and company had eaten them alive on loose balls all night, plus Six Nations' ball handling had been atrocious. Their specialty had been one or two players rushing into the offensive zone without support, being ambushed by three or four Brampton checkers, thus turning the ball over, often with more than 20 seconds remaining on the shot clock.

That all changed after the Bomberry marker. The team played with more purpose and enthusiasm down the stretch and were rewarded for their efforts. Tony Henderson - the Turnover King - redeemed himself by tying the contest with 8 minutes left. Once tied, the match pace picked up remarkably as both clubs went end to end looking for the winner. Fans were kept in suspense right to the last seconds. On the visitors final possession they took some ill advised shots which only wore down the 30 second clock. Then with a loose ball in the corner, and all seemingly lost, Miller somehow batted it out to Squire and he scored the winner with seven seconds remaining - barely beating the shot clock buzzer. Truly a fluke goal, however Lady Luck was not on Brampton's side this evening.

A special comment on the officiating. Spies and King were perfect! Three penalties to the Chiefs over the first two periods(resulting in a shorthanded goal and one Brampton score) then two third period calls against the Excelsiors(Chiefs power play went 2 for 2). Consequently the game had great flow and was a real pleasure to watch.